COOKEVILLE, Tenn. -- Nine home matches, including non-conference
contests against Vanderbilt and Appalachian State, plus Ohio Valley
Conference visits from perennial powers Eastern Illinois and
Southeast Missouri, highlight the 2008 Tennessee Tech soccer
schedule.
First-year head coach Becky Fletcher announced the schedule this
week. It includes an exhibition contest to get things underway and
19 regular season matches leading up to the Ohio Valley Conference
Tournament in early November.
"Our 2008 schedule is very competitive," Fletcher said. "We have
some great non-conference match-ups that will prepare us for a
tough OVC schedule. I'm looking forward to the freshman class
arriving and starting pre-season."
The Fletcher Era begins on August 19 with an evening exhibition
match at Carson-Newman in Jefferson City, Tenn.
The regular season gets underway with three consecutive road
matches, starting in Atlanta against Georgia State (Aug. 23).
Following contests at Winthrop (Aug. 29) and UNC Charlotte (Aug.
31), the Golden Eagles return to Cookeville for their first home
match.
The home opener is Friday, Sept. 5 with a 4 p.m. contest against
Appalachian State. Tech hosts Vanderbilt on Sunday, Sept. 7, at 1
p.m.
Back on the road for the next three, Tech plays matches at Bowling
Green State (Sept. 12) and Toledo (Sept. 14), then visits
Chattanooga (Sept. 17) for a 5 p.m. match.
Once back on familiar turf, Tech opens a four-match homestand that
includes the start of the OVC schedule. It begins with
non-conference matches against UNC Asheville (Sept. 21) and future
OVC foe SIU-Edwardsville (Sept. 25), before Jacksonville State
visits (Sept. 28) to initiate the league slate.
Tech also hosts Eastern Kentucky (Oct. 3) in that homestand as the
Golden Eagles face a stretch of eight consecutive league
encounters. That string includes matches at Morehead State (Oct. 5)
and Austin Peay (Oct. 10), home contests with Eastern Illinois
(Oct. 17) and Southeast Missouri (Oct. 19), and road trips to UT
Martin (Oct. 24) and Murray State (Oct. 26).
The regular season wraps up with a home match against Lipscomb
(Oct. 29), before the OVC Tournament. The first round is played
Nov. 4 at campus sites, while the finals will be held Nov. 7 and
Nov. 9 at the site of the regular season champion.
Admission to all of Tech's home matches is free.